Thursday, April 28, 2011

I was going through a hard time a few months ago and some precious friends from church called and said they were going to stock my freezer. And they did! This is one of the many wonderful meals they blessed me with.

1. Brown meat in a deep skillet and drain excess grease. 2. Add canned ingredients and cheese cubes and allow to melt. 3. In a 4 qt casserole dish (or many small freezeable pans), layer the ingredients starting with the 1/3 of the sauce then 1/2 of the tortillas. Repeat layers ending with sauce. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly...or cover with foil and label the top with the directions:

thaw completelyuncoverbake 30 minutes or until bubbly at 350

In my opinion: This was a great dish, I will be making it soon to restock my freezer for nights I'm too busy running kids to dance and soccer practice to cook.

1 Mix chicken, picante sauce or salsa, cumin, oregano, cheese and onions. 2 Place about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla. 3 Fold opposite sides over filling. 4 Roll up from bottom and place seam-side down on a baking sheet. 5 Brush with melted margarine. 6 Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes or until golden. 7 Garnish with additional cheese and green onion and serve salsa on the side.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

I found the cutest cupcake ideas on Betty Crocker's website. Tonight I threw caution to the wind and put out M&Ms, marshmallows, chocolate morsels, green coconut, yello coconut, and 8 different sprinkles and let my kids each create 6 cupcakes.

Ways to Clean with Baking Soda…Mix it with warm water to clean the inside of the fridge or other appliances.Blend 4 parts baking soda and 1 part Borax for a nonabrasive scouring powder.

Ways to Clean with White Vinegar…Add 2 to 3 tablespoons to your dishwasher detergent to cut the grease on dishes.Make a paste of vinegar and baking soda to clean a stainless steel sink.Mix it with water, and run it through the coffeepot for a good inside-out cleaning.Freeze vinegar in ice cube trays, and grind the cubs in the sink disposal.

Ways to Clean with Lemons…Sanitize wooden cutting boards by rubbing them with lemon juice, then let them set overnight. Wash and rinse.Use lemon juice on chrome faucets and appliances, then buff ‘til they shine!Sprinkle the cut side of a lemon half with salt, and use it to clean the inside of copper cookware.Cut a whole lemon in quarters, and grind it in the garbage disposal to disinfect and deodorize it. (Paula’s favorite!)

“I always keep plenty of lemons, vinegar, and baking soda in my kitchen because they pull double duty- I can cook or clean with ‘em!” - Paula

Freshen the FridgePaula says four simple steps make this big job more manageable.1. Pull out all the food and throw away out-of-date items2. Wash drawers and shelves, and then wipe down the interior with warm soapy water.3. Use soap and bleach (and latex gloves!) to clean and sanitize the drip pan, if you have one, underneath the fridge.4. Vacuum any coils in the back or underneath.

Grease Be Gone!The grimiest cleaning jobs in the kitchen are the exhaust fan blades, housing, and filter; underneath the stop top; and the oven. For these jobs, Paula finds that the fastest way to cut the sticky mess is to squirt the surfaces with Greased Lightning, an all-purpose cleaner originally created to help mechanics mop up car grease. Just wear latex gloves, and grab a roll of paper towels to wipe away grease. Then wipe with a damp sponge and dry.

Cleaning with Ketchup?Rubbing ketchup on dirty copper-bottomed pots will restore the shine.

1. Give each child a marshmallow, and tell them it represents Jesus. Have them dip it into the melted butter, and then roll it in the cinnamon sugar. These represent the oil and spices used to prepare Jesus' body for burial. 2. Now give each child a crescent roll, and have them wrap up the marshmallow tightly, pinching it closed as much as possible. The roll represents the linen cloths that Jesus' body was wrapped in. 3. Place your rolls into the oven, which symbolizes the tomb. Bake according to package directions, and pretend it has been 3 days! ;-) 4. an "empty tomb". Isn't that cool?! Jesus has risen! Alleluia, Alleluia! :-)

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs one at time, beating after each addition. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk., beginning and ending with flour mixture beating after each addition. Stir in Irish cream. Spoon batter into prepared pan, and bake for 1 hour and 15 - 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack.

It took a little more than 3 T. of the Irish cream to get a good consistency. Just keep adding until you get it the consistency you want. You can also use a little milk instead of adding more irish cream liquer or flavoring. In my opinion: This was DE-lish! I really loved the glaze. I hate to admit it, but this is definitely a heavy/dense cake so be prepared to share!

About Me

I was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Yee-Haw. I am a proud member of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of '94. I have been blessed with a wonderful husband and 4 beautiful children plus 4 angel babies. We are members of the local Catholic church. Besides being with my family, I love cooking, baking, decorating cakes, and saving money!